Caroline McAlister
  • Home
  • Books
    • John Ronald's Dragons
    • Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief
    • Holy Mole!
  • About
  • Blog
  • For Teachers
  • Contact

Turkish Delight

8/16/2016

8 Comments

 
In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe Edmund tells the white witch where she can find his brothers and sisters while cramming his mouth full of Turkish Delight. C. S. Lewis builds up the desirability of this treat by first describing the beautiful package in which it arrives. "The Queen let another drop fall from her bottle onto the snow, and instantly there appeared a round box, tied with green silk ribbon, which, when opened, turned out to contain several pounds of the best Turkish Delight. Each piece was sweet and light to the very center and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious." Of course, everything always tastes better when it is beautifully presented. Also, as Cara Strickland informs us, Turkish Delight was an Edwardian Christmas treat. C. S. Lewis's own childhood memories would have included opening boxes of Turkish Delight under the Christmas tree. The beautifully wrapped box evokes not just gustatory delight, but the whole experience of Christmas.

​The sensory appeal of Turkish delight and the moral error of Edward's gluttony would have been intensified for Lewis's readers in the early 1950's by the experience of war time rationing. 
Picture
I was astounded also by this other image of women rushing a chocolate shop in 1953 when rationing ended. It puts in perspective not just Edward's desire for Turkish delight, but also Roald Dahl's chiding of spoiled post war children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Picture
When I teach The Chronicles of Narnia, I buy a box of Turkish Delight at our local Middle Eastern Restaurant and food store, The Nazareth Bread Company. Students are always a little mystified by what all the fuss is about when they taste the dessert. To the modern American palate, it is not terribly sweet and has a strangely plastic, unnatural texture.
8 Comments
Sarah Maury Swan link
8/17/2016 05:10:49 pm

Hmm, I always loved Turkish Delight when I was a child and I do remember how upset my mother got when she discovered neighbors of ours had taken my sister to the Black Market during the times of rationing. Thanks for the interesting blog

Reply
Linda Andersen link
8/18/2016 07:02:29 am

I found this very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I have not ever tasted Turkish Delight.

Reply
Cat Michaels link
8/18/2016 08:05:27 am

Well, I learned something new....never heard of turkish delights-:D.

Reply
carol Baldwin link
8/19/2016 03:20:40 pm

Interesting blog....you never know where reading will take you. Loved the historic pictures--puts the desirability of the candy in perspective.

Reply
Michelle Mullen
8/20/2016 11:17:15 am

I had not remembered the Turkish Delight scene until you beautifully re-presented its place in Narnia...and then the Dahl similarity...perhaps sweets and chocolate are some of the most primal yearnings we experience from a young age...something that transports our sense of taste, touch, and "eye candy" in childhood to appreciate raw joy. Umm-hmmm, I could go for a box of truffles from Chocolate Fetish after reading your post. Thank you, Caroline for sharing this insight!

Reply
Kathleen Burkinshaw link
9/1/2016 10:31:00 am

I have always wondered what a Turkish delight was. What a great and tasty way to add to the book discussion!

Reply
Jacqueline Williams
9/9/2016 06:32:39 pm

Thank you for writing the interesting article. My grandmother grew up in war time England. She was a constant reminder of how good Americans really have it. She often spoke of the rations and how excited she was to come to the United States. She couldn't believe the abundance US. citizens had in America.

Reply
essay writing tips link
2/21/2018 09:17:39 am

Wow, this article is relevant to the Turkish culture which is quite impressive. I just read it and i feel great to see the author's writing skills which used in this article. I will suggest this article to others surely.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Caroline McAlister

    Caroline is an avid reader, children's writer, and teacher. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and dog. Check out her bio for more!

    Archives

    December 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All
    Abingdon
    Adam Gidwitz
    Alberto Manguel
    Alice Medinger
    Antonio Iturbe
    A Secret Vice
    Book Review
    Book Trailer
    Boo Review
    Caucus Race
    Childhood
    Class
    C.S. Lewis
    Dita Kraus
    Elections
    Eliza Wheeler
    Emily Jenkins
    Every Campus A Refuge
    Fantasy Writers
    Game Theory
    G. B. Smith
    Historical
    Hobbit Food
    Holocaust
    JRR Tolkien
    Katherine Rundell
    Ken Jennings
    King Edward's School
    La Belle Sauvage
    Lewis Carroll
    Libraries
    Lilit Thwaites
    Maphead
    Maps
    Middle Grade Fiction
    Nerds
    News
    Noel
    Our Lady's School
    Oxford
    Philip Seargeant
    Picture Books
    Quenya
    Rachel Bachman
    Refugees
    Robert Gilson
    Rooftoppers
    Scuppernong's
    Similes
    Sindarin
    TCBS
    Tennis
    Tennis Seeding
    The Art Of The Lord Of The Rings
    The Chronicles Of Narnia
    The Hobbit
    The Inquisitor's Tale
    The Kilns
    The Librarian Of Auschwitz
    The Shadow Man
    Thror's Map
    Tolkien
    Tolkien Reading Day
    Tolkien's Letters
    Tolkien's Lost Poems
    Tolkien's Poetry
    Tournament Brackets
    Victorian England
    Warren Hamilton Lewis
    World War 1
    Writing Process
    Writing Technology
    WWII

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly